I've been a sometimes lurker here for quite some time, but I finally have a reason to register and post. I'm working to ween my girlfriend off of taking her car to the dealer for as many service items as possible. We've recently bought tires from Discount Tires (for about half the $$$ money of her last set from a dealer), gotten a new battery at WalMart (150% longer warranty for 66% of the cost), and now it's time for an oil change (to be performed by yours truly).

I'm sure I could just get brand X oil and a cheap filter in 5w-20 and be along my way, but I thought it might be worth while to solicit some opinions here, given her/our unique (as they might be) circumstances. First, the requested information:

1. What kind of vehicle you have 2002 Honda Civic EX w/ 1.7L engine.2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4, etc.) and change intervals as well From page 209 of the manual: "Always use a premium-grade 5W-20 detergent oil displaying the API Certification Seal."3. Where you live Houston, Texas (20F on our coldest days, 110F on the warmest, but mostly in the 75-95 range).4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?) She is a very very conservative driver, rarely exceeds 2,000 RPM.5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?) Trips are more occasional than daily, with perhaps 1-2 short (1-3 mile in city) trips per week, and 1-2 mid-range (15-20 mile on highway) trips per week.6. Whether your car has any known problems The car has only 87,000+ miles on the odo, and is mechanically in perfect condition (no leaks, good mileage, sounds and feels fine).

Additionally, I would add that one of my primary concerns with getting the cheapest 5w-20 I can find is the low mileage per year. Given her current patterns, she has been changing oil on the order of every 18 months or so. She does also travel internationally for periods of sometimes several weeks, so it may happen that the car is not driven for a month or two at a time.

Does this pattern of use justify a blended or pure synthetic to protect against some kind of breakdown? How about a word on filters as well? Would a synthetic element do better in periods of dormancy, or long (per calendar) OCI's?

As with any forum, and on any subject - I certainly appreciate any thoughts, suggestions, references, questions, or other input; and I look forward to reading your comments!

I'm no expert by far but these are my thoughts. Since the car was dealer serviced, mostly likely has seen only convention or synthetic blend. Therefore, I personally would not start a synthetic oil because of the potential for oil leak/s starting. I'm impressed by Pennzoil convention oil (PYB) and the synthetic blend (Gold bootle). If I didn't stock up recently on Havoline oil I'd get the Pennzoil. Sam's Club has a case (12 Qts.) 5w-20 for around $37. The Gold (5 qt.jug) is around $18 @ Walmart. As far as duration of the oil change, no longer than 1 yr. or 5-6K mi. A Puralator Classic/Pure One oil filter would be fine. Finally, if you could find a steal on some oil, buy a few cases. Don't think you could go wrong on any brand name oil. Don't forget to drain and fill the transmission as well. Work safely.

K.your vehicle is being operated in what I consider severe service. Short trips,limited highway miles,etc is very hard on oil. At start up fuel inevitably gets by the rings until thermal expansion has created a tight seal. Couple that with shirt 3 mile drives the oil just keeps accumulating fuel and a 20 mile weekly drive isn't going to evaporate all the fuel out. There's a couple ways you can go. You can run a 10w-30 conventional hdeo for a 5000 mile interval. An hdeo won't lose as much film strength as fuel accumulates and being a grade thicker means by 2500 miles into the interval you've got a 20 grade now anyways. Change every 5000 miles.

Or you can go buy M1 from Walmart for 26 bucks a jug and run a 10000 mile interval. In this scenario a bi-weekly road trip of 50 miles minimum is required to evaporate off the fuel and condensation.

Both scenarios will keep your engine spotless and long life. Personally I'd use the conventional hdeo and change it every 5000 miles. That way the short trip fuel accumulation is gone for sure instead of guesstimating at how many miles I'd need to drive to evaporate 2 weeks worth of short trips.

Or you can buy your favourite oil,sample it at 5000 miles and get a used oil analysis done. Fine tune your drain interval based on the data acquired.

Any of these options are great and will lead to a splotless engine and long reliable life.

I'm working to ween my girlfriend off of taking her car to the dealer for as many service items as possible.

As with any forum, and on any subject - I certainly appreciate any thoughts, suggestions, references, questions, or other input; and I look forward to reading your comments!

My best advice is do NOT do any work on your girlfriends car if you value your relationship. Let her take it to the dealer because the first time her car breaks down (and it will) it will be YOUR fault and she will say: "I never had these problems when the dealer took care of my car" Then she might say: "They are trained mechanics and you are not".

Then she will tell all of her friends and parents how you FUBARed her car. At this point all of your goodwill will go right out the window as all of these people look at you like you are a schmuck for breaking her car. Trust me on this.

You have been warned

Edited by Doog (02/18/1410:01 PM)

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The difference between a beer and your opinion is that I asked for a beer...

I'm working to ween my girlfriend off of taking her car to the dealer for as many service items as possible.

As with any forum, and on any subject - I certainly appreciate any thoughts, suggestions, references, questions, or other input; and I look forward to reading your comments!

My best advice is do NOT do any work on your girlfriends car if you value your relationship. Let her take it to the dealer because the first time her car breaks down (and it will) it will be YOUR fault and she will say: "I never had these problems when the dealer took care of my car" Then she might say: "They are trained mechanics and you are not".

Then she will tell all of her friends and parents how you FUBARed her car. At this point all of your goodwill will go right out the window as all of these people look at you like you are a schmuck for breaking her car. Trust me on this.

You have been warned

I'm still digesting all the oil-related opinions, but I wanted to say that I have certainly considered the "you FUBARed my car" aspect of this project.

The problem is that, in addition to motor oil, I have been shopping for another item composed of carbon atoms, forged over time under great pressure (the kind they set in platinum). So, one way or the other, this will eventually by my problem to deal with. I wouldn't mind the expense of dealer service (OK, yes I would) but they do such terrible work. The last time she took the car in for a rotation, they returned the car without noticing all four of the tires had advanced dry rot which was causing the sidewalls on 3 of them to bulge and begin to split (another symptom of her low mileage, a set of 6 year old tires with 8/32nds of tread). This was a recipe for a blow-out at speed. Nothing is worth more to me than her safety and happiness...

I owned a 02 Civic EX (5-speed standard) from new till 2010 when I purchased another new Civic. In those 8 years I drove the car 330,000 miles before selling it to my brother in law to teach his son to drive a stick shift. I always used the recommended 5w-20 but purchased what ever was on sale and usually Baldwin oil filters ( I wouldn't run ANY Fram filter even on my lawn mower) changed at 5,000 mile intervals.That vintage of Civic is very reliable and in the time frame I owned it I remember having to replace 3 Alternators, 2 batteries, wheel bearings at 220,000 miles, shocks & struts @ 250,000 miles and the original clutch at 300,000. I always had the timing belt, water pump, spark plugs replaced at the recommended 100,000 mile intervals. My nephew still drives the old civic and it has well over 400,000 miles on it currently and it still runs like a top. Even the AC still blows nice cold air without ever being serviced. Run whatever 5w-20 oil you can find cheap and I wouldn't anticipate any problems what so ever.

For anyone who later plows this thread up, or any who were curious I thought I should post my carefully considered choice:

Yep, 5w-20 in a PYB, with a Purolator PureONE filter. I looked over her service records a little more carefully, and it looks like she's getting some additional miles in somewhere that I haven't accounted for, because she is averaging more like 3,000 miles per year.

I figure I'll keep her on a 12 months or 3,000 miles OCI, and see to it that the car is driven regularly when she's out of town for extended periods.

Again, I appreciate all of your input, and will certainly report back with any stunningly good or bad news!